Since stepping into the Red Bull car earlier this season, Yuki Tsunoda has really struggled. Like many other second Red Bull drivers over the years, he hasn’t quite figured out the car yet and has only scored points in three of the past 11 grand prix.
However, Tsunoda was finally given some much-needed upgrades before the Hungarian Grand Prix, which helped him qualify P7. Despite the upgrades last weekend, Tsunoda admits he still doesn’t have the same car under him as Max Verstappen, but should receive it soon.
Yuki Tsunoda says he’s yet to receive the same upgrades as Max Verstappen
Before the Hungarian Grand Prix, Tsunoda discussed racing alongside the best driver on the grid, Max Verstappen. He said it was very impressive how consistent Verstappen is, but doesn’t think it’s fair to compare him to his teammate without having the same car.
“You know, how [Max Verstappen] always extracts performance consistently every session, every grand prix, is very impressive,” Tsunoda told the media. “It’s not things that you can do very easily. And it seems like he can. It looks like he does it very easily.
“But at the same time, I just don’t think it’s fair to compare. And I don’t want to directly compare with him because he’s been here nine years in that car and I’m just jumping into the car. And also, I’m not – well, let’s see if I get exactly the same car. Until that point, I can’t compare directly.”
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The belief is that Tsunoda will get the same upgrades after the summer break. Until then, it’s hard to determine the true pace of Tsunoda and the Red Bull car.
Late strategy call costs Tsunoda his first points in two months
After qualifying P7, Tsunoda was on for a points finish for the first time in over two months. He looked much more comfortable in the car with the new upgrades, but a late strategy call completely messed up his race.
While the rest of the grid was diving into the pits to get off their intermediate tires, Tsunoda stayed out. He was going through the final chicane, and it wasn’t until he hit the start line that his engineer attempted to call him in. At that point, it was much too late, and Tsunoda had to go around the longest track on the calendar, losing a heap of time.
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However, Tsunoda didn’t let this affect him too much. He knows he had the pace to finish in the points, so he knows he’s making progress.
“Missing the points is not ideal at all,” Tsunoda told reporters at the Hungaroring. “But one thing that helps me is definitely, with my engineering side, with my side of the garage, at least we know that there’s clear progress and a clear pace.”
Tsunoda needs to turn his season around if he wants to have a seat in 2026. He could stay within the Red Bull system, or could be a candidate for a team like Cadillac. We’ll see where he ends up, but he needs to continue to find pace with the new upgrades.
